Policy of Nondiscrimination

It is the policy of New England Law | Boston to provide equality of opportunity in legal education for all persons, including faculty, other employees, applicants for admission, enrolled students, and graduates, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender (including identity and expression), age, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation. The law school complies with all applicable federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws, including Title IX. Please contact the Director of Student Services at 154 Stuart Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-422-7401), with any inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy.

Loan Repayment Plans

Graduation/Entering Repayment:

Who is my loan servicer? How much do I owe?:

The best and most comprehensive source for information about your federal loan borrowing history is the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). You will need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID in order to access your data (you may have already done this if you've completed a FAFSA since April 2015). All federal loans (Stafford, Perkins, Graduate PLUS) from your undergradate and graduate schools will be displayed, along with the loan amounts, the lender and guarantor for the loan, and the school which you were attending when you borrowed the loan. Private loan information is not included on NSLDS – for that information you must contact either the lender from whom you borrowed the loan, the school you were attending, or you can pull your credit report.

For students who have borrowed through the Direct Loan Program (any loans at New England Law post-7/1/2010), you should contact the Direct Loan servicer associated with your federal loans (in most cases, borrowers will have just one or two federal loan servicers). The following link is contact information for the current DL loan servicers: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/servicers#my-servicer

Exit Interviews:

Once you have graduated or withdrawn from New England Law, you will be asked to complete an exit interview. You must complete an exit, as it provides you with important repayment information about your law school student loans and will update your contact information with your loan servicers. Exits should be completed for all of your federal loans. Federal Stafford and Federal Graduate PLUS exits can be done online at studentloans.gov. Additional exit materials are required to complete for your Federal Perkins Loan.

Updating Your Information:

It is extremely important to update your lenders and the law school whenever you have changed your contact information. The burden is on the borrower to notify the lender of an address change. While the exit interview is a big part of this, for students who may move multiple times in the years following school, it will be necessary to continue updating everyone to make sure you don’t fall behind on payments. Failing to make on-time payments due will do damage to your credit rating, which could impact your ability to borrow in the future.

Entering Repayment:

Your law student loans will enter repayment at different times post-graduation (or less than half-time enrollment):

Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized & unsubsidized)

6 month grace period

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans

First payment due 60 days after final disbursement of loan; borrowers who are still enrolled at least half-time will be placed on in-school deferment until date of graduation. Grad PLUS loans borrowed on or after July 1, 2008 automatically go into a 6 month administrative forbearance.

Private Alternative Education Loans

Varies by lender

Federal Perkins Loans

9 month grace period

FFEL Loans vs. Direct Loans:

As of July 1, 2010, all federal loan disbursements at all schools were through the Direct Loan Program. Prior to that, schools were allowed to decide the source of their students' federal funding, whether through DL or through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). For students enrolled in New England Law prior to July 1, 2010, your loans would have been processed through the FFEL program and you would be responsible for making repayment to the lender whom you borrowed the federal loan through (unless notified otherwise - see PUT Program). All federal loans, regardless of being borrowed through DL or FFEL can be consolidated together in the Direct Loan Program (this may be required for participation in programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness).

Loans Purchased by the Department of Education (PUT Program):

The U.S. Department of Education began purchasing FFEL Program loans from FFEL loan holders in 2010. Borrowers with federal loans borrowed prior to July 1, 2010 may have loans that were transferred to the Department of Ed. and a new loan servicer. Both your former lender and the Dept. of Education would contact you in such an event. You can also check your NSLDS records to determine which of your loans have been sold to the Department of Ed. as well as who the new servicer is. U.S. Dept. of Education will show up as the G.A. - Guarantee Agency - and the servicer's name will follow.

It is important to note, if a loan was sold to the Department of Ed., that loan has NOT automatically become a Direct Loan; it is still considered a FFEL loan. To obtain Direct Loan loan repayment and/or cancellation benefits, you will need to consolidate these loans into the Direct Loan Program.

Students who borrowed a Perkins Loan while at New England Law will be receiving correspondence from ECSI, the servicer for these loans (our former servicer was Xerox/ACS). If you have any questions about your repayment of your Perkins Loans borrowed at New England Law you may contact the Office of Student Accounts at 617-422-7302 or stuacct@nesl.edu.

The exit counseling for the Federal Perkins Loan is mandatory.

Interest Rates:

The interest rates your loans are carrying will be based on the type of loan you borrowed and when you borrowed the loan. Your interest rates may change if you are taking advantage of borrower benefits or if you consolidate your loans. Your loan servicer/NSLDS will be the best source of information on what your interest rates are, however, the following is a basic chart for graduate/professional loans borrowed while at New England Law (rates on your undergraduate loans borrowed will vary):

Federal Stafford Loans

(subsidized & unsubsidized) borrowed prior to July 1, 2006

Variable rates (unless you consolidated these loans to a fixed rate)

(subsidized & unsubsidized) borrowed on or after July 1, 2006

Fixed rate: 6.8%

(unsubsidized) borrowed on or after July 1, 2013and before June 30, 2014

Fixed rate: 5.41%

(unsubsidized) borrowed on or after July 1, 2014and before June 30, 2015

Fixed rate: 6.21%

(unsubsidized) borrowed on or after July 1, 2015and before June 30, 2016

Loan Repayment Plans:

There are several types of loan repayment plans available for borrowers. Should you enter repayment and not change your plan, the default plan is Standard Repayment. For loans borrowed under the FFEL Program, you are allowed to switch payment plans once per year. For loans borrowed under the DL Program, you can change plans at any time, as long as the maximum repayment period under your new plan is longer than the time your Direct Loans have already been in repayment. If you want to change repayment plans, contact your loan holder or loan servicer. There are no early repayment penalties for federal loans.

Standard Repayment Plan:

10 year repayment period

Fixed monthly payments (minimum $50/month)

Will have the highest monthly payment due, but accrues the lowest amount of interest

Best if:

You have a steady source of income

You want to eliminate your debt as soon as possible, while paying the least amount of interest, with the lowest total cost

Graduated Repayment Plan:

10 year repayment period

Monthly payments will be lower to start; interest only payments the first 2-3 years

Payments will increase after 2-3 years (but no single payment will be more than three times greater than any other payment you've made)

Will cost more than a standard plan, due to interest accrual

Best if:

You want to make lower monthly payments to start

You expect your income to increase steadily over time

Extended Repayment Plan:

Must have $30,000 of FFELP loan debt (cannot include Federal Direct or Perkins loans, unless you've consolidated these loans into Direct Lending)

Up to 25 year repayment period

Within this plan, you can choose standard or graduated repayment terms

Useful for lowering payments without resorting to a deferment or forbearance

High amount of interest will accrue

Best if:

You have a high amount of debt

You need to make lower monthly payments

Income Sensitive Repayment Plan (for FFEL Program loans only):

10 year repayment period

Monthly payments are based upon a fixed percentage of your gross monthly income, between 4% and 25%. The percentage is determined by the borrower and the resulting payment must be greater than or equal to the interest that accrues. Some lenders may set a minimum threshold on the percentage of income, based on your debt-to-income ratio.

Accrues a larger amount of interest than a standard plan

Income information must be reported yearly to remain eligible

For DL Program Loans, this plan is called Income Contingent

Best if:

You need to make lower monthly payments based on your income

Income Based Repayment Plan:

Up to 25 year repayment period - any outstanding eligible balance remaining at the end can be forgiven. At time of publication, this outstanding amount will be taxable.

You must demonstrate a "partial financial hardship" to be eligible to enroll in this plan

Monthly payments are capped at 15% of your monthly discretionary income, where discretionary income is the difference between your prior year's adjusted gross income (AGI, plus your spouse's if you're married and filing taxes jointly) and 150% of the federal poverty line that corresponds to your household size and state in which you reside (subject to change)

May not result in the lowest monthly payment possible - other plans may be more beneficial

Income information must be reported yearly to remain eligible

High amount of interest will accrue

Parent PLUS loans cannot be included (nor can a Federal Consolidation Loan that included a Parent PLUS)

For more information on these various plans:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), forgives remaining debt for public servants after 10 years of public service employment. Under the Loan Forgiveness for Public Service, if a borrower makes 120 qualifying loan payments on a Federal Direct Loan (including Federal Direct Consolidation loans) while working full-time for 10 years in public service, the unpaid balance is forgiven by the federal government. (Borrowers may consolidate into Direct Lending in order to qualify for this loan forgiveness program starting July 1, 2008.)

Public service employment is defined as:
- employment in a 501(c)(3) organization
- employment in government (local, state, federal, and tribal; including military and employment in public schools and universities)
- service in a full-time AmeriCorps position
- employment in a "public service organization" (including legal services)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is NOT a payment plan option - it must be bundled with either Standard, Income Contingent, or Income Based Repayment Plans. Since it is only available for loans in the Direct Loan Program, students at New England Law who have borrowed FFEL Program loans can consolidate the loans they want to be included in Public Service Loan Forgiveness as a Direct Consolidation Loan with the U.S. Government in order to make them qualify.

Students who make payments through the IBR plan for Public Service Loan Forgiveness should keep in mind that if they do not complete the required 10 years of public service, you will have accrued a large amount of debt with this plan. Only students who are serious about completing the full 10 years should consider IBR for their PSLF repayment plan.

As of January 31, 2012, the Department of Education released an Employment Certification Package to help borrowers track their progress toward qualifying for PSLF. The forms are available at Student Aid on the Web.

Consolidation:

Loan consolidation can result in lower monthly payments, fixed interest rates, only one payment for your federal loans per month, and new or renewed deferments. While you may pay more in total interest over the life of the loan, your monthly payments may be significantly lower.

There are a number of factors to consider before deciding to consolidate. In some cases, you may find that consolidation will be necessary – for example, it is required to consolidate with the Federal Government if you want to enter the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. On the other hand, if you have all of your federal loans at a fixed rate, you may benefit from not consolidating. Private education loans cannot be consolidated with federal loans. The following link provides more information about consolidation and how to determine if it’s the best choice for your repayment: Direct Loan Consolidation.

Other Options: Deferments and Forbearances

Deferments:

A deferment is a period in which repayment of principal and interest is postponed temporarily. During the deferment of a subsidized Stafford loan, the government pays the interest that accrues. For unsubsidized loans (Stafford, Grad PLUS), you are responsible for the interest that accrues during the deferment period. If you have unsubsidized loans, any unpaid interest capitalizes when you enter repayment at the end of the deferment. If you are not eligible for a deferment you may still be eligible for a forbearance.

Common deferments include:

In-school at least half time

Graduate fellowship program

Rehabilitation training program

Military service

Unemployment

Economic hardship

Forbearances:

A forbearance is an arrangement to postpone or reduce your monthly payment amount for a limited and specific period during which you are charged interest. If you indicate a temporary inability but willingness to pay the loan(s), you may ask for or be offered a forbearance. For all loans, interest that accrues during a forbearance is the responsibility of the borrower. When you re-enter repayment at the end of the forbearance period, any unpaid interest capitalizes. You must apply and qualify for a forbearance and your lender must approve the request in order for a forbearance to be in effect. If you are not eligible for a forbearance you may still be eligible for a deferment.

The Student Loan Repayment Programs administered by the U.S. Department of Defense

The federal government authorizes postponement of repayment because you are subject to a military mobilization, affected by a local or national emergency, or live in a federally-designated disaster area.